P.S. the comparison would be a lot easier and your point much more powerful though if the scale on the Y axis was the same on each graph. As it currently is, you need to look hard to see that prices have gone up by six times in Florida compared to 2.5 times in Texas.

Surprisingly, there is an article on CNN.com about the positive impacts of the oil boom. It talks about a rancher who struck oil in North Dakota and how he and his 70 closest relatives are set for life.

It also talks about small towns which are exploding in size over night as oil firms move in. Hotels being overbooked, houses not being built fast enough, etc.

I think the main selling point of drilling off-shore is not so much that it can fix our energy problems forever or that it can significantly lower the price of gas, but its simply the fact that oil is $118/barrel and we need that money now above ground and not below. You can make an argument that countries like Saudi Arabia, with huge account surpluses, might want to keep oil underground. But we need this oil above ground to help close our account deficit and via taxes our fiscal deficit. Finally, it will help areas that need the help the most right now: Florida and California.